Honors Blog #3

The New Deal came along during the Great Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. There were several different programs that came with the New Deal including, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The most successful program was the WPA which is why I think if we modernized it, then it would be the most beneficial program today. The WPA made jobs for people to work in buildings, hospitals, and parks. It also hired artists and photographers.

Modern Day WPA would most likely improve our economy and create jobs for people who are currently out of work. One way to do this would be to invest in fixing America's infrastructure. In 2008 John McCain and Barack Obama were all but silent when it came to America's failing infrastructure. They talked a lot about putting a lot of money into alternative fuels, electric cars and high-speed rail but none of that would really mean much if America's roads, bridges, and rails can't support them. Many people wanted the next president to commit to fixing America's infrastructure and believed that such an investment would create jobs and strengthen the economy.

"(Congress) should invest in the more than 3,000 ready-to-go highway projects that could be under contract within the next 30 to 90 days," says John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "Funding these ready to go projects offers Congress a tremendous opportunity to put Americans to work and help cash-strapped states repair and replace our crumbling infrastructure."

While this may be a huge investment to make, it could still potentially help get the economy back on track. In 2005 a report card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave America's infrastructure- roads, bridges, drinking water, schools and transit systems- a D. It would take about $1.6 trillion to bring it up to a B-. Some people say that this would be a good investment to make because: 1. it is said that one of "every four bridges in the country is either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete" according to the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials. and 2. that, once again, it'll provide jobs to those who need one and it'll help the economy in the long run. I don't know exactly where I stand with this issue but it is an example of how the WPA could be used in modern day society.